Gogo WiFi lands in more US Airways Airbuses and Embraers, intros Gogo Vision

Gogo isn't just tossing its mid-air wireless goodies toward Virgin and American, with US Airways being the latest to join the extra perks party. Per today's announcement, the airline is stuffing Gogo WiFi in a few more planes, including the Airbus A319 and A320. Other shorter (and much smaller) aircraft, the Embraer 170, 175 and 190, are also getting the in-flight WiFi treatment. Meanwhile, a quick peek at the PR below reveals Gogo is quietly launching its Vision service, allowing passengers to watch movies, shows and have access to "exclusive" shopping deals -- though, you'll have to shell out $1 to $6 more for the privilege. Maybe now you'll actually want to seek out Express flights rather than avoid them, since you'll have far fewer passengers to fight for bandwidth.

TEMPE, Ariz., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- US Airways (NYSE: LCC) is expanding its Gogo® Wi-Fi inflight Internet service to its fleet of Airbus A319, A320 and Embraer 190 aircraft. With the expansion of inflight Internet across the Airbus A320 (A319, A320 and A321) family and Embraer 190 fleet, US Airways will have 90 percent of its mainline domestic fleet equipped with Wi-Fi Internet access. The service will also be expanded to US Airways Express Embraer 170 and 175 aircraft operated by Republic Airlines. In addition to extending inflight Wi-Fi on more flights, the airline announced that it will launch Gogo Vision™, a streaming video product that will allow passengers to watch movies and television shows on their own Wi-Fi enabled device.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120103/LA28814LOGO)

"US Airways is excited to bring entertainment to the skies and enhance our inflight experience for both business and leisure travelers," said Andrew Nocella, US Airways' senior vice president of marketing and planning. "Not only are we ensuring customers stay connected on more of our flights with the expansion of Gogo Wi-Fi, but we are placing customers in the pilot's seat of their entertainment experience with Gogo Vision."

Gogo Vision will be available through a new multimedia platform that will give passengers access to movies, TV shows, games, destination content, news and exclusive shopping deals. Movies and TV shows will remain accessible for viewing even after the customer has landed – movies for 24 hours and TV shows for 72 hours. Unexpired rentals will be available for playback on the ground using the same device and browser used onboard. Gogo Vision entertainment will range from $0.99 to $5.99, separate from the cost of Wi-Fi service.

"We are excited at the opportunity to connect more US Airways passengers through the expansion of Gogo and look forward to offering them access to Gogo Vision through the new multimedia platform," added Michael Small, Gogo's president and CEO. "The new platform will give US Airways passengers access to myriad online entertainment options, all of which will be available by opening the browser on their Wi-Fi enabled device."

US Airways is scheduled to begin the expansion of Gogo Wi-Fi on Embraer aircraft this summer and Airbus A320 family aircraft in the fall of 2012, and expects to complete installation by the end of 2013. Currently US Airways' Airbus A321 aircraft are equipped with Gogo's air-to-ground (ATG) technology. During the expansion process, these aircraft will be retrofitted with Gogo's ATG-4 technology. The upgraded technology will enhance Wi-Fi capacity to the plane and significantly increase the data rate for customers as compared with the current technology. All Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft will be equipped with ATG-4 technology during installation. Customers will have access to Gogo Vision on Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft following the installation of ATG-4 technology.

Visit www.usairways.com/wifi to learn more and track the airline's Wi-Fi installation progress.